In February, the American Council of Engineering Companies, California announced its prestigious 2018 Engineering Excellence Awards. Of the 39 firms recognized for their outstanding work, four firms from the Sacramento and San Joaquin Counties earned Honor Awards and two local firms and four local Sacramento-area projects were recognized with Merit Awards.

“The heart of civil engineering is to solve complex challenges to help make people’s lives better,” said Brad Diede, Executive Director of ACEC California when the EEA awards were announced. “This year, we are recognizing a wide range of innovative projects that include improving transportation and roadways, giving students a high-quality school campus, or providing better access to clean water. I’m very proud of our engineering and land surveying firms and their local agency partners and private sector partners, who keep pushing the envelope to find smarter, more advanced ways to serve the people of California.”

In all, 39 California firms representing 55 projects were recognized. 19 Honor Awards were granted to 18 firms; 26 Merit Awards were granted to 20 firms; and 10 Commendation Awards were granted to 9 firms. The winner of the Golden State Award, an honor bestowed on the best overall project, was announced at the Engineering Excellence Awards dinner in February 2018. The awards dinner is also a fundraiser for the ACEC California Scholarship Foundation 501(c)3, which provides scholarship awards to accomplished graduate and undergraduate students. Honor Award winners that were eligible entered the national level Engineering Excellence Awards competition and had their photographic panels on display at the Capitol, outside of the Governor’s office, in early 2018 during National Engineers Week.

Honor Awards recipients from Sacramento and San Joaquin Counties include:

Carollo Engineers, Inc. in Sacramento, CA, for its work on the Sacramento River and E.A. Fairbairn Water Treatment Plants Rehabilitation in Sacramento, CA. Carollo Engineers, Inc. worked closely with the City of Sacramento to plan, design, and assist during construction of major facility upgrades to the City’s two surface water treatment plants that, together, supply the City’s residents with up to 360 million gallons per day of potable water.

Kjeldsen, Sinnock & Neudeck, Inc. in Stockton CA, for its work on the Mule Creek State Prison Level II Infill Complex in Ione, CA. The project is a $373 million design-build project covering approximately 90 acres adjacent to the existing high security Mule Creek State Prison. The scope of the project included 544,000 square feet of new construction in 23 individual buildings.

Omni-Means, a GHD Company, in Roseville, CA, for its work on the Holman Highway 68 Roundabout in Monterey, CA. For this project, the designers supplied a roundabout solution that lowered costs and eased traffic congestion. The roundabout solution addressed all of the unique characteristics of the area while relieving congestion, improving emergency response times, and creating a sustainable gateway to the Monterey Peninsula and Pebble Beach Community.

Riverview Capital Investments + The New Home Company + Wood Rodgers, Inc. in Sacramento, CA, for their work on McKinley Village in Sacramento, CA. McKinley Village is a 49-acre infill development located within the urban core of the City of Sacramento providing housing close to existing jobs; thereby, the project reduces commute times, vehicle miles traveled, and greenhouse gas emissions. The project includes 336 residential units – including 24 condominium units, four different lot sizes from 2,600 to 4,750 square feet, a community recreation center, five park sites, five pocket parks, and a community garden. Infrastructure design included (but not limited to): a railroad undercrossing, widening the existing 1954 bridge overcrossing of Business – 80 Freeway, and a new roadway across a closed landfill site.

Merit Awards recipients from the Sacramento County area include:

Blackburn Consulting in Auburn, CA, for its work on the Cosumnes River Boulevard Extension and I-5 Interchange in Sacramento, CA. This project was the City of Sacramento’s largest transportation project in 25 years. It includes a 3.2-mile roadway extension, a new interchange and overcrossing bridge at Interstate 5, and a second bridge spanning Morrison Creek and railroad tracks. Blackburn Consulting provided geotechnical consulting services during this multi-year design project.

Kennedy/Jenks Consultants in San Francisco, CA, for its work on the EchoWater Site Preparation Project in Elk Grove, CA. The EchoWater Site Preparation (Site Prep) project is a linchpin to the over-arching $2 billion EchoWater Upgrade and Expansion Project of the Sacramento Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant. The scope of work for the Site Prep project included installation of roadways and high security gates, stormwater infrastructure, two contractor logistics complexes, overhead power, a weather station, a communications tower, and a new groundwater well. Also included is an array of new site infrastructure including water, sewer, recycled water, 12kV and 480V electrical, fiber optic communications, wastewater process fluids, and several new facility buildings.

Parsons in Pasadena, CA, for its work on the McKinley Village Way Underpass in Sacramento, CA. The project includes a new Union Pacific Railroad bridge over the underpass, which connects the historic East Sacramento neighborhood to McKinley Village, a new urban residential community in the heart of the Sacramento region. With allowance for future tracks, the bridge has room to carry the Capitol Corridor’s planned Third Track project to expand commuter rail service between Sacramento and Roseville.

Kennedy/Jenks Consultants in Rancho Cordova, CA, for its work on the American River Pipeline Conveyance Project in Carmichael, CA. Conceived in 2011, the American River Pipeline Conveyance Project (Project) puts into action Integrated Regional Water Management agreements and resolutions that successfully solve water supply reliability issues at a local level. The Project was developed to provide a replacement water supply for Golden State Water Company’s (GSWC) customers in Gold River and parts of the City of Rancho Cordova where supplies were lost due to groundwater contamination. Specifically, the project provides clean water for a population of approximately 44,500 persons in the GSWC service area, which includes a significant number of very low-income households.